Imprinting's Trap
by yesiluvthestage
Summary: The Committee decides who imprints on who. One day, an argument makes them force Jake & Leah to imprint on each other. The two set out to find the Committee and fix it before they accidentally fall in love.
1. The Committee

**Okay, so I feel somewhat bad for starting another story when I have three already going, but I got this idea last night, and I just have to write it. So if you like it, review and I'll keep it up, but if it totally stinks, tell me so I can stop and focus on my other fanfics. Thanks! Read and review please! (P.s. there's no Edward. And also, we're going to pretend that Jake is older than Bella. She's 17 and he's 18. They're best friends. Okay, cool.)**

Imprinting's Trap

Prologue: The Committee

The Committee was having an argument.

"Marlene, I think _this _girl would be perfect for him."

"No, no. I think this one, Rainy." Marlene said, pointing at a different strand. They were trying to decide which girl a new werewolf would imprint upon. Apparently, it was a tough choice. The Forger moved her head frantically from Marlene to Rainy, trying to figure out who's life strands she was supposed to fuse together. It was difficult work, I'll tell you that.

"Mar, I think I'm going to have to put my foot down here. _That _one." Rainy pointed at a completely different strand, causing The Forger to roll her eyes in frustration.

"Ew, no! She is a horrid choice. _This _one is better." Another new strand from Marlene.

"That's it!" The Forger exclaimed in her crackly voice-crackly because it was so rarely used. The Forger never decided anything. She merely listened to The Choosers and did as they instructed. But lately they had been bickering so much it was driving The Forger insane. "You two are making me batty! He'll imprint upon _this _one." And she picked a strand up at random and quickly forged it with the werewolf's.

"No, Aeri, no! You have to...undo it or something! That was a _terrible _choice! They hate each other!" Marlene cried. The Forger shrugged.

"It can't be undone. Besides, imprints can never be a bad choice. They'll _have _to love each other, especially since it appears that they're both werewolves. The force will be too strong to fight."

That was what The Forger thought. However, very far away, two teenagers begged to differ.

Chapter One: In Love with the Wrong Girl

_earlier that day_

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bells!" Jacob called excitedly over the phone.

"Hey, Jake, what's going on?"

"Not much. Listen, you want to come over to my house later for a movie or something? There's something I want to talk to you about." Although Bella came over to Jacob's house almost everyday, he was still nervous awaiting her answer. He rubbed his sweaty palms together, holding the phone between his cheek and shoulder. To his immense relief, Bella laughed.

"Of course. You don't even have to ask me anymore. Just tell me when to be there."

"Um...now?" he suggested with a chuckle, trying to push his luck as far as it could absolutely go.

"I'm on my way."

They hung up the phone and Jacob sighed contentedly, falling backwards onto his bed. He had liked Bella for as long as he could remember, but, he admitted to himself, he had been a big chicken. Too scared to man up and ask her out. But tonight he was going to do it. He had it all planned and everything. Thinking about it got him all nervous again, so he stood up and began pacing in the closet otherwise known as his bedroom. After knocking into his dresser twice, he gave up and left the room. Billy was in the living room, sitting in his wheelchair watching television.

"Where you off to, son?" he asked.

"Beach." Jacob answered after pulling a t-shirt over his head and running a hand through his short black hair. "Bella's coming over soon."

"You gonna ask her?"

"Yep."

"Alright, well she can't stay too late, Jake. You've got patrol duty with Paul later, remember."

_Shoot. _Jacob thought. He _had _forgotten. _Well, _he thought with a mental chuckle, _I suppose my mind is good at keeping repulsive things from my head. _Everyone in the pack always hated running patrol with Paul because his thoughts were so sick to listen to. But, everyone had to do their part, and that included spending unwanted time with Paul.

"Okay, Dad." Jacob said, then he headed out the door. The November air was chilly and slightly wet as he neared the shoreline. Soft spray from the water misted over his face. It felt good. At that moment, he heard teeth chattering and heavy footsteps from behind him. He grinned and turned around. Just as he had predicted, Bella was marching through the sand towards him, shivering with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Bells, what are you doing? Why didn't you bring a jacket? You know you live in _Forks, _right?" she was wearing jeans and a short sleeve shirt, and from where Jacob stood, he could see goose bumps along her arms.

"I'm s-sorry," she replied sarcastically. "I forgot. _Generally,_ beaches are _warm." _

"You've lived here for two years now. You'd think you would have realized that First Beach isn't like beaches you're used to."

"Yeah, yeah." Bella smiled.

"Listen, I didn't call you to come over so I could pick on you, though that is a nice bonus-,"

"Why thank you, Jake."

"You're welcome, Bella. Anyways, I told you, I want to talk to you."

"Go ahead. You know you can tell me anything." she told him. He blushed and bit his lip.

"Walk with me."

"Of course."

He put his arm around her as they strolled along the beach, rubbing her arm with his hand to warm her up.

"Lord, you're freezing!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." she laughed at her own joke, then turned serious again. "What do you want to talk to me about, Jacob?" Internally, Jake was battling with himself. He wanted so badly to ask her out already, but he was truly afraid of rejection. "Please, tell me?"

_Well, when she puts it that way. _Jacob thought. He stopped, turned Bella towards him and took her hands.

"Okay, here it goes. Bella, I-"

"Jacob! Jake!" someone panted. Jacob looked around and saw Leah running full speed in her human form at him. As soon as he laid eyes on her, he glared. She stopped in front of them.

"Hello, Leah." Bella said politely. Leah nodded in her direction.

"Go away." Jacob hissed through his teeth at Leah. She smirked.

"Yeah, I'm so happy to see you too, sunshine. Sam needs you. Now."

"Can you tell him I'm kind of in the middle of something?" he eyed Bella who had backed away a few feet to give them some privacy.

"Unless you've miraculously imprinted on her recently, I don't think Sam will care. He said it's extremely important."

Jacob groaned, then brought his eyes up to meet Leah's. As he did, he felt like he had been transported to a whole new place, but was the same as the one he had just left. He felt dizzy, in a good way. It was strange, he felt as if an invisible chord connected him to Leah, tying them together. He involuntarily took a step closer to her. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that he had imprinted on her, only it was double the feeling because they had _both _imprinted on each other. "No," Jake muttered, but still moved closer to her. Leah's expression was impossible to read. Then Jacob shook his head and caught sight of Bella, standing a yard away, glancing at him with a concerned expression. "No!" he cried, louder. Leah jumped back, shocked.

"Oh, no, no, no." she said, a hand on her hip and wagging a finger. "This is _not _going to happen."

"Lee-Lee-ah, _Leah," _it was a struggle not to use a pet name when speaking to her now, but there was no way he was going to call her that. Ever. "I think it already did."


	2. Mistakes

**Thanks to all the people that reviewed! Since it seems like you like it so far, I'll keep it up. Because I like this story (:**

Chapter Two: Mistakes

"Bella," Jacob turned to her, while in his head he was coming up with different ways to kill himself. "I...there's something really important I have to go do. I'm so, so sorry. I'll be right back, I promise." Bella laughed.

"Don't worry about it. Go do whatever you have to do. I'll be right here." She sat down on an old tree stump and emulated a statue.

"Thanks, Bells." he said, then turned and ran full tilt for the woods. He tried to ignore the fact that although Leah was only running a few feet from him, he wanted to be closer. _Ew. _He thought. He was so mad at the universe that he shivered and transformed right then.

_Watch it, Jakey- I mean _Jacob! Leah thought to him. She had jumped aside and transformed just in time. Jacob didn't answer, just sprinted faster to where the pack waited.

_What happened?_ He asked as he stopped in front of Sam. No one answered him, because they were all listening to his and Leah's thoughts. Paul fell to the ground, rolling, and barking out harsh laughs.

_Seriously? _He thought. _Jake and Leah? That's too much! _Everyone else in the pack, aside from Sam, and of course Jacob and Leah, started cracking up.

_That's enough! _Sam thought angrily. He was using his alpha voice. _We're here for a reason. Get up, Paul. _Paul stood, and everyone sobered up, but Jacob could see that there were smiles dancing on their tongues, waiting to escape. _I caught two vampire trails by Forks. We'll divide into two teams and run a quick patrol, got it? Jared, Seth, myself, and Leah will take the north trail while Paul, Quil, Embry, and Jacob will take the south...wait...Jake? Leah? Do you two need to run together? I'm not sure how strong the pull is for you._

_No! _They thought at the same time. Jacob's was so loud and intense, it was nearly an alpha command. Sam shrank away minutely.

_Alright, then, let's head out. _The pack took off in the two directions, Sam leading one group and Jacob leading the other. Jacob's group sniffed out their trail quickly and began to follow it.

_Hey, Jake? _Quil thought after a while.

_Yes?_

_You aren't even on the trail anymore, man. You're way too far north. _

Jacob looked down and stopped running in surprise. He realized that he was halfway between the northern trail and the southern trail. Leah was only a few yards away. Apparently, they had both been subconsciously drifting towards each other.

_Jacob, you're trading spots with me. I can't have my two fastest runners off the trails. _Sam ordered. Jacob skulked, but ran to the northern trail. Leah followed a few feet behind with her head down.

_I'm never going to live this down. _She thought.

_You got that right. _Paul laughed.

_Shut up before I rip your ugly head off!_

_Leah, Paul, both of you cut it out! _Sam commanded. Leah went back to running in silence. Jake led his team up to the very edge of the trail where it stopped and met up with the southern trail inside Forks. It was much too close to Bella's house in Jake's opinion.

_Would you shut up about Bella already? It's making me sick. _Leah thought.

_Would you rather me think of _you _instead? _Jacob countered.

_That's it! Jacob, Leah, head back to La Push. Change back into your human forms and sort this mess out_. _We can manage without you here. Jacob, you're off patrol duty for tonight, I'll run it instead. You two better straighten up. _

Jacob and Leah tucked their heads in shame and slowly turned and made their way back to La Push, trying to run as far away from each other as the imprinting force would allow-which was really not that far apart.

_Dang it, Jacob. _Leah thought. Her clothes had exploded when she had had to transform quickly earlier. _This is all your fault. Close your eyes and meet me on the beach in five minutes. Get rid of Bella._

Jacob sighed, but closed his eyes anyways until he heard Leah leave. Then he transformed, pulled on his shorts, and made his way back to the beach.

"That was fast," Bella laughed when he got there. She eyed him suspiciously. "Where'd your shirt go?"

"It ripped on a tree branch." Jacob answered quickly. He hated lying to her, but it was the only way. She nodded, not fully believing him. "Listen, Bells, there's something really weird going on, so you need to get out of here."

"Are-are you okay?" she asked worriedly, standing up. She fished in her pockets for her car keys.

"I don't know, Bells. Please just go, okay? I'll call you when I can."

She nodded slowly and gave him a quick hug. "Be safe. Love you, Jake." she told him. Normally that would have made him really happy, but today he just wasn't in the mood.

"You, too." And she left. Jacob sank down onto the stump and put his face in his hands.

"Alright, let's talk." Leah came around from the trees and stood in front of him.

"About _what, _Lee...Leah?"

"About _this, _Jacob. This whole imprinting business. We need a...a divorce or something."

"A divorce?" Jacob chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"Or something." Leah corrected. "Look, you don't like me, and I sure as heck don't like you, so we need to fix this. No way are we going to date. We can't be imprints. There must be some mistake."

"As far as I know, imprints are never mistakes. And besides, I don't think there's a way out."

"Oh, there better be. Because otherwise, I'm going to have to kill you. And even though I hate your guts, that doesn't mean I want you dead."

"I guess we could go talk to my dad about it. If anyone would know how to...un-imprint us, it would be him."

"Fine, then. Let's go get this taken care of."

"Right now?"

"Yes, Jake. Right now."

"Aw, you called me Jake." Jacob teased. She glared.

"Keep this up and by the end of tonight you won't have a head."

"Sheesh, Leah, when did you become so violent?"

_When Sam broke my heart. _She thought. But, seeing as they weren't in their wolf forms, Jake didn't hear her.

**Sorry this chapter is kind of short. And boring-ish. I hope you still like it anyways (: I'll update as soon as possible. Review please!**


	3. Billy's Advice

Chapter Three:

Jacob stood up and they started walking towards his house. He smirked to himself as an idea came to him. He knew that his fun would come at a price, but it was so worth it. He yawned and stretched his arms, then subtly placed his right arm around Leah's shoulders. She didn't look at him, but he could feel her stiffen and exhale sharply.

"Aw, Jacob," she said sweetly-but Jake was not to be fooled. "If you value your limbs at all, you'll move your arm right now."

"You know it feels good!" he laughed, but moved his arm anyway. He didn't want to push his luck, because he knew that Leah was being completely serious. She would have no problem ripping him to shreds, and he was well aware of that. What he _didn't _know was that Leah felt a tiny hole of emptiness in her chest the second Jacob moved his arm. She pinned it to hunger, but I think that deep down she knew the real reason. Deep, deep down.

By now they had reached Jacob's house. Billy was sitting on the porch in his wheelchair. He accidentally tried to stand up upon reading the distress in Jake's eyes, but obviously, he couldn't. His brow furrowed.

"What's wrong, son?" Jacob and Leah looked at each other, wondering how to tell him, but then they didn't have to. Billy could see it in the way they looked into each other's eyes. He chuckled and Jacob glared at him.

"This isn't funny," he said.

"What's wrong?" Billy repeated. "I'd think you'd be happy that you finally imprinted."

"Did you forget about the fact that I'm utterly and completely in love with Bella?"

"Too bad she doesn't even know you exist," Leah muttered with a laugh. Jake turned to stare at her.

"She does, too. We're best friends."

"Oh, and that's _so _much better!"

"Enough, you two!" Billy yelled, throwing up his hands. They turned to watch him.

"Do you see the problem now?" Leah asked through clenched teeth. Billy nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"Come inside." he turned and wheeled himself inside with Jake and Leah following behind. They sat on the couch and Billy stopped in front of them."Let me get this straight. You two imprinted on each other."

"Yup," they answered.

"But you don't like each other."

"Nope," Jake said, and Leah added, "At all."

"Okay. Seems like we're clear then." and he began to wheel away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Jacob stopped him. "That's it?"

"I don't know what you want me to do, son. As far as I know, imprints have never been reversed."

"There's a first time for everything, right?" Leah exclaimed, exasperated. "Listen, Billy, with all due respect, I can't live with your son for the rest of my life. I _hate _him, quite frankly, and there is no way that I _could _ever or _will _ever love him. So we have to get this fixed, understand?"

Jake tried to ignore the stabbing pain through his heart at every word. _Can't live with him. Hate him. Couldn't ever. Will never. Love him. Never. _He knew he wasn't in love with her. That much was pretty certain. But still, a small part of him wanted _her _to at least like _him. _

"Well, I did hear _something_, a long time ago from my father...but, there's no way...it's impossible."

"What is it, Billy? Tell us!" Leah fell off the couch in her excitement and kneeled in front of him. Her hands were clasped, pleading.

"You'd think I was a death sentence." Jacob said under his breath.

"Close enough," Leah hissed back.

"Be quiet, both of you. My father once told me that there were people who actually controlled who imprinted upon who. But, I'm pretty sure it was just a myth."

"Dad, you're talking to werewolves here. I don't think I believe in 'it's just a myth' anymore."

"Yeah, Billy, where are these people?" Leah's voice was comically desperate.

Billy shrugged.

"No one knows. As I said. Myth."

"Well, we should go find them then." Jacob said, as if it were obvious. Leah looked at him.

"We? No, no way. You can go. I'm not going with you." she folded her arms across her chest to show she meant business. She pulled herself back up onto the couch.

"Why do I have to go alone? This trip could be dangerous." Jake protested.

"Exactly. Can't you at least _attempt_ to be chivalrous?"

"Um, no, don't think so."

"This is getting old, you two." Billy said flatly. Leah and Jake laughed, and in the moment high fived, congratulating each other for successfully irritating Billy. Then they looked disgustedly at their hands and turned back to Billy, who chuckled. "Jacob _is _right, though. You should both go. If you're planning on appealing to the Committee, you'll probably have a better chance at success if you both go."

"The Committee?" Leah asked.

"Yes, didn't I tell you that's what they're called?" Billy replied absently.

"No, you didn't." Jacob said, but Billy didn't answer. He was thinking about something else.

"You should try Greece. There are a lot of mythological creatures there. Perhaps someone would know about the Committee there." he finally said. Jake and Leah nodded and the latter stood.

"Go pack, Jacob and I'll go get my things. We should leave by tonight. The sooner we get this taken care of the better." she headed for the door but stopped when she made it outside, clutching at her heart. It was aching miserably and she couldn't force her foot to go another step. She turned around and saw Jacob sprawled on the couch, holding his chest, too. She sighed and walked back inside, instantly feeling better. "Okay, so you'll pack quickly and then we'll head to my house where _I'll _pack quickly, got it?"

"Sure," Jake gasped, sitting up. He ran to his room and threw a couple changes of clothes and his entire stash of money into a backpack. He came back out, told his dad bye, promised to call, and followed Leah to her house.

"Wait out here, it will only take a second." she told him at the door. She ran inside and Jake could hear her arguing with someone, presumably her mother. There were doors slammed, and then he heard footsteps pounding down the stairs. Leah came outside again, her hair a mess and her eyes red with a messenger bag on her shoulder. Jacob stared at her as they walked down her porch steps and down the road to Jacob's truck.

"What?" she asked, getting in and throwing her bag into the backseat. Jacob copied her and started up the truck.

"What happened in there, Leah?"

"Nothing, chill. Gosh, Jake." she stared out the window. Jake was silent for a moment, and then he stopped the car, causing Leah to lurch forward. "What the heck?" she exclaimed angrily.

"Listen, Leah. I know what you're going through with Sam. I have to listen to Bella talking about some guy named Edward all the time. She's completely in love with him. I deal with it, though. But we're going on this trip together and you aren't going to treat me like dirt the whole time, okay? My dad was right, it's getting old." he turned back to the front and started the car up again.

"Jacob, don't pretend for five seconds that you know how I feel with Sam, okay?! Did Bella promise you her heart? Did she promise that you would be together forever? Did she promise that she would marry you and that you would have two little kids running around a house with a white picket fence? Did she tell you that you would grow old together? Oh, and then, after all that, _then_ did she fall for someone else and just give you an 'I'm so sorry, Jake, I can't control it'? Bella didn't destroy your future, Bella didn't ruin your life, and _Bella _didn't make it impossible for you to be happy again. And until she does every last one of those things, you will never _ever _know how I feel about Sam!" Leah shrieked. She put her head in her hands and began to cry. Jacob looked over at her and was surprised at how broken he felt, to be watching her cry. This whole imprinting business was really beginning to mess with his head. He reached over and patted her back softly.

"I'm sorry, Lee. Please don't cry." he had decided on calling her Lee, mostly because naturally he wanted to call her Lee-Lee, but since that had been Sam's nickname for her, he shortened it. Leah sniffled and sat up.

"Thanks," she said honestly. She looked out the window. "You better not tell anyone about this."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."

**Sorry it took so long. Did you like it? Review! Oh, and also, don't think that Leah and Jake are like best friends now, because they super aren't. Don't worry, there are plenty more fights to come (:**


	4. Vampires yay!

**So basically I'm ridiculously happy with all the reviews and story/author alerts and favorites I'm getting, so I'm writing another chapter. Right now. Mwa ha ha. Keep up the reviews! You guys are awesome.**

Chapter Four: Vampire Tracks

"Are we there yet?" Leah moaned, leaning heavily on her car door.

"Have I parked the car yet?" Jacob answered. He was getting pretty sick of her asking if they were at the airport yet every three minutes. He rolled his eyes. She was being such a girl.

"No need to be so grouchy, Jacob. Lord. Who spit in your bean curd?" _Really? _Jacob thought. _We're quoting 'Mulan' now? _

"Wow, Leah. I don't think you're ever allowed to call _anyone _grouchy. Ever."

"Oh, shut up."

Jacob groaned. This was officially the longest trip of his life. Mercifully, Leah was silent for a while.

"Hey, Jake," she said slowly. Jacob didn't turn to look at her.

"If you ask me if we're there yet, so help me, Leah Clearwater-,"

"No, no. Look in your rearview mirror. I think someone's following us."

Jacob looked behind him and recognized Sam's beat-up old car. Immediately, he pulled over onto the shoulder and Sam parked behind him.

"It's just Sam." Jacob told Leah when she gave him a look. She rolled her eyes and scowled, turning her gaze to her lap. This gave Jake the impression that it would never be 'just Sam' to her. It would always have to be something like 'hallelujah, it's Sam. Thank you, Jesus'. Yeah. Something along those lines. Jacob got out of the car and met up with Sam halfway.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Billy told me that you guys are heading to Greece."

"Yup."

"Well, you be careful with my girl, alright?"

"Your girl?" Jacob raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Sam had Emily. He had discarded Leah a long time ago. Sam laughed nervously and put his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, yeah. That's right, I forgot. She's _your _girl now." Jacob winced and Sam smiled.

"Hey, Jake, watch out for those vampires, okay?"

"Will do, chief." Jacob mock soluted and got back into his car, pulling it out onto the highway again. He ignored the fact that Leah was very visibly angry. He whistled a cheery tune while Leah waited for him to ask what was wrong. Finally, she grunted and slapped the dashboard with both palms.

"'Oh, right, she's _your girl_ now,'" she said in a mocking tone. Jake looked at her sideways. "I'm not anybody's anything!" she exclaimed. Jake shook his head.

"Never said you were, Leah."

"I'm not talking about _you, _you conceited jerkwad! Seriously, _when _did you become so unbelievably vain? I'm _talking _about _Sam, _our precious leader. He thinks he can still call me his girl? After everything he's put me through?"

"Don't know, Leah." Jake said in the same tone as before. He was getting pretty sick of the nonstop Sam venting.

"I am _so _not his girl. And don't get the wrong idea, because I'm definitely not _yours _either, Jacob Black." she rambled on and on until Jake had had enough.

"Leah, for crying out loud! Would you quit being such a _chick _for like ten seconds? Please and thank you!" he turned back to the road.

"Well excuse me, Mr. Grouchy pants." Leah said as if speaking to a child. But weirdly, she felt happy. Strangely happy. Because talking about Sam with Jacob didn't hurt as much. Jacob blocked out the pain. Eclipsed it completely. And Leah was happy.

Surprisingly, so was Jake. This, just so you know, was unprecedented. Both Leah and Jake, content at the same time? Yes, this was certainly a first. Of course, leave it to werewolf business to ruin the mood.

A scream on the side of the road, in an unfamiliar woods, brought them down from their high, blissful clouds of joy. Without hesitation, Jake pulled over again and sprinted for the woods with Leah on his heels. They both made sure not to explode their clothes this time as they shifted into their wolf forms.

_Be careful, Leah. I don't want to have to scrape you off the forest floor. _Jake thought as they raced silently through the brush. She rolled her large eyes.

_I'll chalk that up to you actually caring what happens to me. We'll play pretend. _She thought back. He mentally shrugged.

_Whatever gets you to sleep at night. _

They pushed themselves harder until they reached a clearing where a young girl stood facing a tall, dark-skinned vampire. They sprinted for the vampire, but they were too late. The vampire had already drained her where she stood. As they reached him, she collapsed on her side, dead. Jacob howled in rage and took the vampire down quickly. Leah had already started a fire, which Jake tossed the pieces into. Jacob dug a deep hole in the ground, far from the vampire's ashes, so they could bury the girl properly.

_Poor girl. If only we'd been faster._

_Is this Leah actually feeling sorry for someone? _Jacob laughed.

_This is not a time to joke, Jake. _

_Really, Lee? If you can't joke when times are hard and things are bad, when are_ _you supposed to?_ And he turned and walked off, leaving her with that thought to ponder. He reached their clothes and shifted back into human form to change. Leah arrived soon after he was finished. She gave him a long hard look which he took to mean, _look away before I eat you alive. _So he closed his eyes until he heard her say,

"Alright, we can head out now." They left the woods and got back in the car.

"It's a wonder nobody stole it!" Jake exclaimed. He had left the keys in the ignition.

"Really? It's a wonder? This car is a piece of crap."

"Aw, I'm touched that you can be so honest with me, Leah."

"Get used to it, Jake."

They rode on in silence for a while, until Leah began hyperventilating.

"Lee, what is it, _now? _Can't we at least make it to the _airport _without a major catastrophe?"

"Someone else is following us."

"It's probably just someone else from the pack."

"Oh yeah? With freakishly pale skin, Jake?" Jacob looked back. In a shiny sports car behind them, a pale girl with obnoxiously long black hair was driving while staring at them. But she wasn't human. She was-obviously-a vampire.

"It's okay," Jacob said, trying to convince himself. "She's in her car, and we're in ours. It's okay. She's not bothering us."

Yeah, she wasn't bothering them until she snapped and Jacob's car burst into flames.

So, to answer Jake's previous question on whether or not they could reach the airport without a disaster. My response is no. They most certainly could not.

**Okay, I know it's short, but I really hope you liked it anyways! If you did, review! Hah and I'll update again soon, I promise. Thank you guys! You're the best :D**


	5. Meet Chloe

Chapter Five:

The back of the car was engulfed in flames first, however slowly but surely the fire was making its way to the front of the car. Leah gasped and looked around frantically, trying to figure out what to do. Jake's only thought was to get her out of the car first, and kill the bloodsucker second.

"Lee, unbuckle your seatbelt!" he shouted, swerving the car over to the shoulder. She looked at him, panicking. It was obvious he wasn't going to be able to get her to do anything, so he reached across and unbuckled it for her, then unbuckled his own. Kicking his door open, he dragged himself and Leah out of the car and onto the grass on the side of the road. He looked around for the vampire, but her car was speeding ahead, evidently thinking her job was done. But Jake knew she would be back.

"Let go of me, Jacob." Leah suddenly said through clenched teeth. Jake realized he still had one arm wrapped tightly around her. He let go and looked away.

"You could try _thank you _every once in a while." he huffed. He rolled over onto his back and breathed slowly and deeply, trying to calm down. "Are you okay?" he asked her after a moment. "You were kind of freaking out back there."

"I'm fine, thanks. I tend to panic a bit when I'm _about to die!" _

"Stop it! Gah, just stop it, Leah. Do you have to get so defensive about _everything?" _

"You wouldn't understand." she looked down.

"I'm not an idiot." Jake sat up and glared at her.

"Well then quit acting like one!"

Jacob screamed, stood up and walked away. He couldn't handle this-Leah starting a fight every few seconds. He just couldn't take it. He shoved his hands in his pockets and headed for the cover of the woods so he could shift.

Meanwhile, Leah laid down on her stomach and grunted into the grass. Why did Jacob have to be so annoying and insensitive? He would _never _understand about what Sam had done to her. She was completely broken and empty, she couldn't help it. Jacob didn't know how hard it was, being hated by everyone in the pack for something that was never her fault. And the worst thing to handle was Sam and his sympathy. He said he was sorry, but Leah knew he wasn't. She saw how happy he was with Emily. If he was remorseful, he wouldn't smile so much. But she didn't want to begrudge Sam happiness. She _wanted_ Sam to be happy. But shouldn't she have gotten to be happy with someone, too?

"Hey. Where'd your boyfriend go?" a musical voice asked. Leah rolled over quickly and stared into the face of the dark haired vampire, who then sat down next to her. "Aw, cat got your tongue? Shame. I'm Chloe, by the way. You are?" Leah turned her head slowly to the side and called

"Jacob!" as loud as she could. Chloe frowned.

"That sounds like a boy's name. What's _your _name, hun?"

"Leah," she hissed. She began trying to shift forms, but Chloe wagged a manicured finger at her.

"Ah, ah, ah, Leah. You shift and I set you on fire." Obviously, Leah calmed herself down, all the while wondering where Jacob was.

At this moment, actually, he came running out of the trees in wolf form. He had heard Leah scream and had known it couldn't mean something good. When the vampire saw him, she again wagged her finger, and caught Leah by the throat while she stood up.

"Look Leah!" Chloe said, turning Leah in the air to face Jacob. She gasped and Jake felt a pang somewhere near his heart. "Your precious Jacob is back!" Leah shook her head frantically. Jake howled and crept backwards back into the woods.

"Coward," Chloe scoffed and dropped Leah onto the ground.

"Who...are...you?" Leah choked out.

"No one of any consequence."

"Why...are you...trying to kill...us?" Chloe gave Leah a look that suggested the latter was kind of an idiot.

"You're werewolves. I'm a vampire. Aw, did you miss the mortal enemies class?"

"But-but-," Leah sputtered.

"You're in our territory, did you not notice that? No, of course you wouldn't. It's sort of my job to kill you."

So that was it. This wasn't all part of some big, important scheme. Leah and Jacob had merely made a huge, life-altering mistake. Leah wondered why Chloe was taking so long to kill her. Couldn't she just get it over with? She also wondered where Jacob had run off to. Was he really that afraid? That he would trade Leah's life for his own? The thought made Leah feel an aching pain in her chest that she couldn't explain. After a few moments of silence, Chloe picked Leah up by the throat again, holding her high enough so that Leah's feet dangled in the air.

"That-really...hurts, you know," Leah croaked. Chloe smiled and squeezed tighter, causing Leah to bring her hands up to Chloe's and try to rip them away. She was going to suffocate soon. _Oh, Jake, where are you?_ She thought. Black spots appeared in front of her eyes and she knew she didn't have much time anymore. "Jake," She whispered and succumbed to the darkness that welcomed her with open arms.

Jacob barreled out of the trees and knocked into Chloe from behind, causing her to fling Leah a few feet away. Chloe turned to face her opponent and Jake wondered why he wasn't on fire yet. Then, taking in her frustrated expression, he realized that she couldn't light living things on fire. He barked out a laugh and sprang at her, feeling giddy yet unbelievably angry at the same time. Chloe ran backwards onto the road and lit a ring of fire around herself, which confirmed Jake's theory. If he was wrong, she would have just set fire to him or the grass. Chloe jumped in her car and sped away way faster than the legal speed limit. Jake phased, pulled on his shorts, and ran over to where Leah was lying on the grass, not moving.

"Lee, Leah, tell me you're alright!" he cried, shaking her. Nothing happened. "Leah, come on, come on!" he shook her harder until she opened one eye and glared at him.

"That hurts, Jake." she coughed, sitting up. "Is that smoke?" she asked. Jacob sighed in relief and leaned away from her.

"Yeah, the parasite got away. Good news is, she can't light living things on fire."

"Why not?"

"Who knows?"

Leah growled. "She was bluffing." she whispered.

"What?" Jake asked.

"Nothing. You really had me going for a moment, Jake. I thought you had left me for dead."

"I'm glad you think so highly of me, Leah. I wouldn't _ever _do that to you."

"Because you're secretly in love with me, right?" Leah asked playfully with a laugh. Jacob forced a chuckle and blushed.

"You know it." he replied, then stood up. "Listen, I know you were all into going to Greece and getting this imprinting thing fixed, but I say we make a little detour along the way. I want to rip that vampire to shreds." Leah stood, too.

"Hmm, you know I really want to be un-imprinted with you. But I think I want to kill that vamp more than you do." she shrugged and smiled. "I'm in." she walked towards the road.

"I doubt _anyone _wants to kill that vampire more than I do." Jacob whispered, and then headed after Leah.

**Hmm...I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I hope you guys like it, though. Question: I was thinking of having some of the Cullens show up to fight the bad vampires. What do you think?? Review, please! You guys are awesome.**


	6. The Cullens

Chapter Six:

Jake knew they were somewhere near Seattle. But what he and Leah couldn't figure out was why Chloe had said that they were in her territory. She had red eyes, which meant keeping a permanent residence would be really, really hard to do. So how did Chloe do it? They bickered back and forth about different possibilities as they walked along the road, seeing as Jake's car was burnt to a crisp.

"Jake, do you smell that?" Leah asked. She sniffed and coughed, nearly gagging.

"How could I not?" Jacob answered. Chloe's scent was heavy in the air. "She did this on purpose. She's leading us somewhere. Why else would she have gotten out of her car and come over here?"

"I think you're actually right for once, Jacob. Weird. Should we fall into her trap?" Leah asked. Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

"Got nothing better to do." he replied and she rolled her eyes.

"A simple _yes _would suffice." she said, but neither of them were really mad. They were both too excited at the prospect of killing a vampire. Jacob actually laughed and headed to the trees to shift. Leah followed a few minutes later, and then they set out again along the trail.

_I wonder if she was one of the vampires the pack sniffed out around Forks? _Leah thought. Jake shook his head.

_No, I would have remembered her. She absolutely _reeks _of bloodsucker. Even more so than the other ones. I think my nose is seriously about to fall off. _Jake thought back. Leah snorted and chuckled, and they both sped up because the smell, if possible, was getting stronger. It led deep into the woods, where it mingled with another scent, a more pleasant, yet still disgusting vampire scent. Jake cocked his head and led the way to the source. They stopped just outside a clearing and peeked in. Chloe was there, all right. Surrounded by three other vampires. Leah and Jake meant to stay hidden, but the four vampires heads snapped up at once and their eyes jumped to where they were hiding. Leah looked at Jacob, to which he responded, _what the heck. _And they entered the clearing. _Who are these bloodsuckers? _

"I"m Edward Cullen , and this is my brother Emmett with his wife Rosalie." The bronze haired one said, gesturing first to the seriously huge dark haired guy, and then the blonde vampire. Chloe watched this little exchange with hatred. Leah glared at all of them.

_He reads minds?!_

"Yes, Leah, I do."

A little information for you. Leah hated when people acted like they knew everything. And she could tell that Edward was one of those people...vampires. She advanced on him, glaring ice. _I'll kill him. _She thought angrily. Edward threw his hands up to show he wouldn't fight.

"We're the good guys. I thought you wanted to kill _her," _he looked pointedly at Chloe. Jacob nodded.

_Well, we do. _He thought grudgingly.

"Then let's get on with it and save the explanations for later, before she gets away." Jake looked at Leah, who shrugged and they completed the circle the Cullens had made.

_I can't believe we're fighting _with _vampires. _Leah thought, rolling her eyes. Chloe looked from face to face, desperately searching for a way out. There wasn't one. She looked at the ground, resigned to her fate and she let herself die easily and quickly. When it was done and she was ash, the wolves phased, dressed, and sat on the ground next to the Cullens.

"Why can we trust you?" Jacob asked suspiciously.

"Because we just helped you dismember one of our own kind?" Emmett suggested. Leah gazed at him evenly.

"Vampires aren't known for sticking together. I'm not surprised you helped." she replied.

"Look at me, look at my eyes. They're gold. We don't drink human's blood. We drink animals'. We aren't monsters." Edward said, looking pleadingly at Jacob. Something tugged on the edges of the latter's memory, but he couldn't place what it was. He was still skeptical of the whole 'we're good vampires' thing. Edward could tell. "Listen, us three, we go to school, and we spend time with humans. We never lapse, I promise you." he vowed, looking straight into Jacob's eyes. No one could doubt his honesty.

"Wait a minute." Jacob said, holding up a hand like a traffic cop. Something clicked. "Do you know Isabella Swan?" he made sure to use her full name.

"Bella?" Edward looked down and away, and if he hadn't been a vampire, he would have turned pink. "Yes, I do." Jacob seethed.

"So you aren't from Seattle? You live in Forks."

"That's correct." Jake began shaking until Leah put her hand on his arm and whispered,

"Calm down. It's okay." he nodded, and became still. Edward, noticing the hostile change in Jacob, opted for a change of subject.

"So are you two...?" he trailed off suggestively, eyeing Leah's palm which still rested on Jacob's shoulder. She hastily removed it and they both shook their heads, speaking comically at the same time.

"No, well _technically, _but we don't wanna be-,"

"We aren't _together, _but we kind of _have _to be, but we don't like _like _each other-," the three Cullens watched in amusement as the wolves stumbled over their words. Finally they just shut up and looked in opposite directions.

"Well, we should be going," Rosalie said, standing and dusting off her jeans. Emmett stood too, and pulled Edward to his feet.

"Wait, I have a question," Jake said suddenly, jumping up. He towered over Edward and Rosalie, and was almost the exact same height as Emmett. "If you're from Forks, what are you doing here?" Edward shifted positions, embarrassed.

"We sniffed out a vampire trail too close to Bella's house in my opinion. We chased him for a while, but we lost him." Jake could tell he wasn't happy about that. "And then we came across the heavy trail of this one and here we are. We really should be going. Have a nice day, both of you." And the Cullens were gone just as quick as they appeared.

"That was weird." Leah muttered once they were gone. And surprisingly, Jacob laughed. I mean, really laughed. He fell to his knees, clutching his side, and then rolled on the ground, laughing so loud that it echoed off the trees. Leah joined in and there they were, laughing at the strangeness of the Cullens. When they finally sobered up and stood, Jacob inexplicably pulled Leah into a hug. She froze, before deftly maneuvering herself out of it.

"I can't believe I still love Same so much. After all he did to me," she hinted, even though Jacob was in no way confessing undying love for her. He didn't like her in that way. He sighed, put his hands into his pockets, and looked at the dirt.

"You sure know how to ruin a moment, Leah." he said quietly, and then he turned and headed out of the trees to walk along the road. A few minutes later, he heard footsteps chasing after him.

"I'm sorry!" Leah called out. "I'm just not ready for anything!" Jacob swerved, exasperated, to glare at her standing several yards away.

"It's been _years_. Besides, not everything is about _romance _or _love. _You know, it's okay to have friends! It's alright to let people care about you! It doesn't mean I want to _date _you. But we don't have to be enemies, okay?" Leah nodded mutely, shocked. "Come on. It's going to take a while to walk all the way to the airport." she jogged to catch up to him.

"We could always phase and run?"

"Nah. It's okay to just walk sometimes. Let's just walk, okay?"

**That is super not how I meant the chapter to turn out, but I kind of like it. Do you? Oh, did you like how Edward and Jacob said the exact same thing about the trail being to close to Bella's house in their opinion? I hope you did. Well, you guys still rock. Review pretty please and I'll update soon. Speaking of, if any of you are reading one of my other stories called Wishing on a Star, I'm sorry, but I may not update for a while. I wrote a chapter for it today, but I completely hate it and I'm having an extreme case of writer's block. Sorry. Anyways, this a/n is long enough. Thanks for reading! **


	7. Broken

Imprinting's Trap

Chapter Seven:

They did, eventually, reach the airport. They were hot, sweaty, and tired, and all they wanted to do was take a nap.

"Can't we just sleep here and catch a plane tomorrow?" Leah wined. Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Lee, you're the one that wanted to get this thing fixed in the first place...or did you change your mind?" he winked and she shrank away.

"Why on earth would I change my mind about _you_, Jacob Black?"

"I don't know, maybe because we're _imprints? _You're making this so much harder than it needs to be. Why won't you just let yourself be with me?"

"Because I don't _want _to be with you, Jake! I _want _to be with Sam!" She yelled. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides and onlookers were beginning to gather around them.

"Let's talk about this outside," Jacob suggested, so they marched back out into the humidity. "Listen, Leah. This is going to hurt, but you need to hear it. You and Sam...you aren't going to be together again, okay? Ever. Sam is with Emily now. He's imprinted on her, and there's no changing that...wait, a second. Going to Greece...it's not just about you and me, is it? It's about Sam! You want him to reverse his imprint on Emily, don't you! I cannot _believe _you!"

"Oh, shut up! Just shut up and quit judging me!" She folded her arms and sat down. Jacob joined her.

"Leave Sam be, okay? He's happy. Don't ruin that for him."

"What about me? Don't I get to be happy?"

"I've been saying it! Just be happy with_ me_, okay? I'm sorry that I'm not _Sam, _but I'm what you've got. Just hear me out. I've given up trying to fight this. It's easier now...now that I'm not working against it, I can see myself liking this...liking _you. Please, _Leah?" Jake was begging and he knew it, but he was tired of fighting against the imprint. He just wanted to give up this stupid quest and go back to La Push with Leah as his girlfriend. She shook her head and tears dripped from her eyes.

"I can't, Jake. I can't trust myself to be with anyone else...I can't do this. I can't!" And right then and there, Leah Clearwater broke down and sobbed. Jacob pulled her into a hug and she cried on his shoulder.

"We're imprints, Leah." he said softly. "I could never hurt you or leave you." Slowly, she shook her head again.

"I don't trust myself with you." And she stood up and ran away.

On the other side of the ocean, in Greece, the Committee was fighting. Again.

"Just watch them, Aeri! They bicker constantly! And look at Leah! She's a mess. There must be _some _way to set them free." Marlene cried. The Forger was warring with herself. She knew that there _was _a way, but it was unheard of. She had never done it before. And secretly, she had been hoping that Jacob and Leah could push past their differences and find love. Evidently, that wasn't going to happen. Rainy and Marlene could see that they had almost forced Aeri to change her mind, so they persisted.

"You can choose them each a different imprint. It'll be fine! Just...I don't think they can handle each other. Please, Aeri?" Rainy pleaded. The Forger sighed and left their magic glass where they had been watching Jake and Leah argue. She walked over to their strings, which were forged together. She could see the strain in them. The strings were stretched thin, near breaking point. There lives couldn't go on much longer entwined. It would kill them. Aeri reached to a high shelf and grabbed a bottle of something thick and black. She uncorked the lid, and hesitated.

"Go on, Aeri."

"Yes, yes, you can do it!"

"Will they know?" The Forger asked weakly. "Do you think they'll be able to tell when they aren't imprints anymore?" The sadness in her voice was unmistakable. Rainy put a comforting hand on her arm.

"I would assume so. They'll be able to go as far apart from each other as they wish. And they won't feel that insane pull to go back to each other. They'll be free to be with whomever they want, until of course, we choose someone else for them."

"Just one more thing," The Forger said. "Do you think they'll be happier this way?"

"Of course!" Marlene exclaimed. "Now go ahead, dear. Give them their freedom." At last, the Forger turned back to Leah's and Jake's strings. She held them out in her shaky hand, and carefully poured a drop of the black liquid onto them. The strings hissed and sizzled for one moment, and smoke exploded from them. When it cleared, Aeri held two separate strings in her hand. They were completely unconnected.

Leah pushed her human legs faster and faster until she was practically flying. Slowly, she began to realize that she didn't feel an irrational urge to go back to Jacob. Surely she had passed the invisible boundary by now, right? She stopped and stood still for a moment, making sure. Nope. She had no desire to return to Jake.

"Yes!" she shouted. She danced around in the trees and whooped loudly in elation. She was free! She heard a twig crack behind her and she turned. Jacob stood panting.

"I heard you scream." he explained when he could breathe. "What's up?" he leaned against a tree and put his hands deep into his pockets.

"We're free, Jake! We aren't imprints anymore! I don't even know how it happened. I was just running, and I realized that I didn't feel the need to go back to you at all! I'm free!" she laughed, truly giddy and started dancing again.

"Oh," Jacob said. His stiff expression didn't change. Leah stopped and looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all."

"I think you're lying." she told him. He shrugged.

"Look, seeing as we don't have to be together anymore, I'm gonna go. Later, Lee." he phased and ran faster than anything back to La Push. Leah stared after him in surprise. She sank to the ground.

Why wasn't he happy? What had she said? She sat for a while, just thinking, and then she realized that she hadn't felt so incredibly lonely since right after Sam had broken up with her. She was alone- she had absolutely no one.

"Jacob!" she cried, standing up. "Jake, wait!" She phased and chased after him.

_Jake? Jake? _She thought frantically. She couldn't hear his thoughts. _Wow, that boy's fast. _Leah began to get scared-night was coming quickly, and the sun was setting. Soon, it would be pitch black and she would be lost. She pushed her legs faster. _Jacob? Jake, where are you?_

_Chill, Leah. I'm right here. Man, you're fast. You already made it back to La Push. _

_Really? Wow. What time is it?_

_Late. We should be getting home._

_Right. Night, Jacob._

_Good-_

Jacob's thoughts cut off with a howl that sounded eerily like a cry of pain.

_Jake?! _Leah sprinted for him. She found him in a clearing near his house, sprawled on the ground in wolf form. He was bleeding from a wound in his stomach. Leah phased into her human form and quickly put on her clothes before leaning her head onto Jacob's massive chest. She waited to hear a heartbeat, but she was met with silence. She couldn't even hear him breathing.

"Billy! Sam! Quil! Embry! Anybody! Come quick! Jake's hurt!" she shouted. She could hear footsteps coming and she turned back to Jacob. "What happened to you?" she whispered in his ear. He didn't respond. As she sat there staring at his lifeless form, and her pack brothers surrounded her, a stray thought flew through her head.

_You never know what you've got until it's gone. _

**Wow, this chapter took me forever to write! Hah I hope you guys like it! Review!! You guys are amazing! Keep reading! **


	8. Healing

Imprinting's Trap

Chapter Eight

Sam and Paul lifted Jacob and carried him into his house. Billy waited just inside the door, his wrinkled brow creased with worry.

"Leah, what happened?" Sam grunted under Jake's weight and they dropped him on the couch.

"I don't know! I just heard him howl, and when I got there this is what I saw."

"Someone call Carlisle," Billy suggested. Leah didn't know who that was, but she didn't care. Just then, Quil and Embry burst in carrying a small Caucasian man in camouflage from head to toe. He had a rifle in his hands, but he looked scared out of his wits.

"We found _him _hiding in the bushes." Quil shoved the man down in front of Sam and Billy. His voice was full of digust.

"We don't allow hunting here." Sam hissed through clenched teeth.

"Wh-what's the issue? It's just a wolf," the man whimpered. He sounded like such a girl.

"He is _not _just a wolf!" Leah shrieked. Everyone in the pack looked at her questioningly. They were all fully aware of the fact that she hated Jake. Well, they thought she hated Jake. Leah just dropped her gaze to the floor.

"What do you want us to do with him?" Embry asked. Paul was already cracking his knuckles. Sam looked to Leah.

"He's _your _imprint. I'll leave the decision up to you."

She bit her lip and thought for a moment. She considered correcting Sam, but decided against it. For some reason, she liked the sound of having some sort of a claim on Jacob. Even if he was dying right before her eyes.

"Just get him out of my sight. And take that gun away." She said at last, so Embry snatched the gun away and broke it against his knee while Quil marched the man outside. Leah turned back to Jacob. There was a knock on the already opened door.

"You called? I came as fast as I could." Carlisle stood in the doorway.

"Oh, thank goodness. Come quickly, doc." Billy beckoned him to the couch.

"Wow," Carlisle said, gaping at the huge wolf in front of him. "I've never worked on an animal before. His name is Jacob, right? We need to get him to phase back into his human form. He'll be easier to treat that way."

"Jake. Jake, you hear that? You need to phase. Come on, I know you can do it." Leah encouraged.

"Is Leah actually helping someone?" Paul snickered.

"Now is not the time, Paul. Jake is about to die!" she exclaimed. To her surprise, she felt tears falling onto her cheeks. She got up quickly and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. In the mirror, she noticed that her eyes were red. Her face was streaked with dried tears-how long had she been crying without realizing it? She dabbed at her eyes with a crumpled up piece of toilet paper and blew her nose. She took a deep breath and went back to the living room. Jacob was in his human form, unconscious on the couch, which shocked Leah. How had they gotten him to phase so quickly? Carlisle was kneeling on the floor beside him, working with a bunch of expensive looking tools. He looked frustrated. Leah went to sit next to him, taking care not to invade his space. His scent burned her nose, but for now she didn't mind.

"How is he?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Not good. It's hard to get the bullet out-his skin keeps healing itself over the wound." He answered quietly. He looked up, addressing everyone. "I'm going to need someone to hold it open." Instinctively, Leah recoiled, but then leaned forward. She wanted to help Jacob.

"I'll do it." she volunteered. She suddenly felt a hand on her forehead.

"Leah, you feeling okay?" Paul snorted. "You're a teensy bit warmer than usual." That was about it. Leah rounded on him and punched him in the jaw, causing him to fall backwards into Embry, who knocked into Quil who had just re-entered the room. The domino effect was pretty amusing. Paul was staring at Leah incredulously, rubbing his face.

"Don't mess with me today, Paul." Leah warned, sitting back beside Carlisle. "What do you need my help with?" He showed her how to hold the wound open, and she did as she was instructed, turning her face away so she wouldn't have to watch Carlisle fish for the bullet. After a few minutes, she heard something _plink_ into a glass.

"Got it," Carlisle announced victoriously. Leah gratefully removed her hands from Jake's side and went to wash them while the doctor bandaged the wound. When she came back, Jacob's stomach was completely wrapped up. "I think that's about all I can do. Here's some pain medicine." He handed Billy a small bottle of pills. "He'll need to take twice the normal dosage for someone his age, considering his size." He made his way to the door and Leah followed after him, tripping over the pack brothers as she went.

"Doctor Carlisle sir?" She wasn't quite sure how to address him. He turned to face her and smiled, extending a hand for her to shake.

"Please, call me Carlisle."

"Okay, Carlisle, I'm Leah." she shook his hand and lowered her voice. "Do...do you think Jake is going to make it?" she was biting her lip again.

"It's hard to say, but he _should." _He answered carefully, then smiled again. "He's a fighter... I'm sorry if it's not my place, but are you his girlfriend?"

Leah hesitated and then grinned. "Yeah, something like that."

"Well, he's lucky to have a girl like you." He assured her. "I'd better be going. Have a good night, Leah." He made his way down the porch.

"You too, Carlisle!" she called, finding herself actually _liking _a vampire. She shook her head. That was definitely a first. She turned around and was met with questioning glances from six people-Paul, Quil, Embry, Billy, Sam...and Jacob? His eyes were wondering, but his mouth was smirking. Leah, ignoring this fact, raced over to him.

"You're awake!" Unthinkingly, she threw her arms around him.

"Ow," he muttered with a laugh, and she shrank away sheepishly. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, staring at her until she looked up again. "So you're my girlfriend, huh?" he asked softly.

"Okay!" Sam said loudly. "I don't think our presence is required here anymore. Out, everyone." He ordered, ushering them to the door. They all went, but Paul clung to the doorframe.

"It was...just...getting...good!" he grunted. Evidently, someone was pulling on his legs.

"Now, Paul!" Sam shouted in his alpha voice. Paul glumly let go of the frame and trudged outside. Leah and Jacob looked back at each other after the door was closed and everything was quiet. Billy cleared his throat and they both looked up.

"I'll be in my room. Asleep. Not listening." he said, and then wheeled quickly down the hallway. Jacob shoved himself up into a sitting position, grimacing. He smiled when he was comfortable again.

"I should be going," Leah said, in an effort to escape. She tried to stand, but seeing as Jacob still had her hand, he pulled her back again.

"Not so fast." He wagged a finger at her. "_You _said you were my girlfriend." He reminded her. Leah sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was saying, I didn't know you were up-," she was babbling and she knew it, but she couldn't make herself stop.

"Leah!" Jake finally interrupted. She looked at him. "Just shut up," he smiled, then closed his eyes. "Does this mean you _want _to be my girlfriend?"

"Maybe," she answered quietly. "But, I don't know _how _to be with anyone besides Sam...I've never been with anyone else before, and we dated for so long...," she trailed off.

"Well, maybe it's time for you to get some practice." Jake suggested. Leah's jaw dropped.

"You would seriously want to date me? Why? I mean, I-I'm bitter, I'm rude, I don't know how to talk to people-," she ticked off the reasons using the fingers of her free hand until Jake wrapped his other hand around it.

"You're perfect," he corrected.

**Sorry it's so short, guys! I was really just trying to get out one more chapter before I go on a five day long trip where I most likely won't be able to write. I hope you like this chapter! Review (:**


	9. First and Worst Date

**I am so, so, SO sorry that I haven't written in so long. I am such a terrible person, I know. But here! I'm back and ready to go (:**

Leah smiled at the compliment, then attempted to stifle a yawn. Jacob noticed and shook his head with a grin.

"Go home, Lee. I'll still be here tomorrow. We can spend the whole entire day together." He told her. She didn't even try to argue with him. She was too exhausted.

"Bye," she sighed. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, earning himself another blush from Leah.

"Bye. Sleep well!" he called as she left.

Leah, quite literally, was dancing on air as she ran home. She had a boyfriend and she was happy. Someone actually _liked _her. Someone wanted to be with her besides Sam. She wasn't doomed to a lifetime of loneliness. She could be with Jake and be a normal person again-aside from the whole female-werewolf thing. She flung the door open upon reaching her house and hummed her way into the kitchen.

"You're home awfully late tonight," Sue Clearwater commented. Leah's mother sat at the kitchen table, reading a romance novel and sipping a mug of steaming coffee. Leah frowned.

"I know, Mom, I am so sorry. I'm an awful child. Feel free to ground me for as long as you want." She exclaimed. Sue lowered her book in surprise.

"Is that sarcasm?" she asked.

"No, mom, really, I'm completely serious." Sue nodded, wondering how to handle this new and improved Leah.

"Oh…well, in that case, you aren't in trouble. Hey, get me some cream from the fridge, will you please? This coffee is a little bit too black."

"Of course!" Leah spun to the refrigerator while singing a random tune. She returned quickly to the table and sat across from her mother. Sue peered at Leah sideways while she added cream to her coffee. Finally, she set the carton down and clasped her hands together under her chin.

"Sweetie, who is he?" she asked quietly, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Hmm?" Leah was staring off into space with a goofy grin plastered on her face. Sue snapped loudly, jolting Leah out of her thoughts.

"Leah Clearwater! What boy has gone and made you crazy? You haven't been this happy since Sam." Surprisingly, she didn't even flinch at Sam's name. Sue noticed. "Are you really over him?"

"Mom, I'm with Jacob now." Leah giggled quietly. Sue let out a breath of relief and stood, making her way over to where her daughter sat. She kissed the top of her head and began to leave the room. She paused in the doorway and turned back.

"Finally," and she left. Leah went to bed that night, happier than she had been in years-it's truly amazing how fast people change.

The morning couldn't come fast enough for Jacob. When it was finally light outside, he rose with a painful grunt to go bathe and brush his teeth. He pulled on fresh jeans and a black tee shirt before making his way into the kitchen for breakfast. Billy was already at the table munching some cereal. He fist bumped Jacob when he saw him, gaining an eye roll.

"You heard the whole thing last night, didn't you?" Jake asked, grabbing some milk and drinking from the carton. Billy didn't say yes or no, but chuckled,

"The whole 'you're perfect' line was pretty smooth!"

Basically, Jake spewed his milk all over the kitchen, causing Billy to wheel out quickly.

"Clean up before she gets here!" he called back. So Jacob set to work scrubbing the counters and the tile. When he was done, he moved to the living room couch where the fresh laundry sat in a pile. He pulled off his now-soiled shirt and began digging around for a new one. He stood up abruptly when he heard the door open.

"Sheesh, Jake, put a shirt on!" Leah shouted with a laugh. She covered her eyes.

"Leah," he replied in a disbelieving tone. "You've seen me without a shirt on before. It's just like we're at the beach or something." Leah walked blindly forward, trying to follow his voice. She was giggling like a toddler. Jake sighed and reached out to help her. She pulled away and folded her arms.

"Nope. Not until you are fully clothed, mister." Jacob chuckled at her mock-stern voice, but pulled on a random blue shirt anyway.

"Alright, you can open now." He told her. She opened her eyes one at a time and grinned when she saw what he was wearing.

"You look good in blue." She blurted, then covered her mouth with her hand. "I don't know why I just said that." She whispered. The look on her face was pure horror, causing Jacob to laugh out loud.

"It's okay," he told her, pulling her into a hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," her reply was muffled against his chest and she pulled away nervously after a moment. "So, how's your side?"

"It's a little sore, but other than that, you would never know I got shot yesterday." He shrugged.

"I still can't believe someone would do that to you." Leah sat down on the couch and Jacob joined her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey," he chuckled softly. "They didn't mean anything by it. They didn't know I was a shape shifter." Leah shoved him.

"It's not funny. You could have died, Jacob."

"But I didn't. I'm here, you're here, that's what matters. You know what _I _still can't believe? The fact that you're my girlfriend. Never in a million years would I have thought we'd be dating."

"Oh? How long have you liked me?"

"Since you and Sam first went out, give or take a few years." He smiled and Leah laughed incredulously.

"Are you serious? I mean, what about Bella?" Jacob shrugged.

"I guess I had almost given up on you ever liking me." He looked away.

"Aw, Jake."

"Shut up," he laughed. "Alright, enough with the mushy stuff. What do you say to dinner and a movie in Port Angeles?"

"Well, that sounds great. Except it's nine o'clock in the morning!"

"How about the beach first then?"

"Sounds good. Let me go put my bathing suit on and I'll meet you back here, okay?" Leah didn't wait for an answer before sprinting out of the house. When she reached her home and her bedroom, she debated for a full ten minutes over what swim suit to wear.

"Hey, Leah, you in there?" It was Seth.

"Yes, little brother!" Leah called back jokingly.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Sure! I need your help anyways!" The door opened and Seth Clearwater marched in and plopped onto her bed. "What's up, Seth?"

"If Jacob hurts you, I'll kill him, okay?" he said in a serious tone. Leah chuckled.

"Hey, _I'm _the oldest, remember? Besides, Jake could probably take you."

"Yeah, yeah. I just feel like I should do the whole protective brother thing, ya know?"

"Mhhmm. Well, consider your mission accomplished. Now, which swim suit should I wear? Brown, turquoise, or pink?"

Seth thought for a moment, a hand stroking his chin. "What's the design on those?"

"The brown is solid, the turquoise does that sort of Indian beading thing, and the pink one has polka dots."

"Definitely the turquoise then."

"Ah, thanks, Seth. You're great when it comes to fashion advice." They both laughed and Seth left so his sister could change clothes. Leah put on the turquoise bikini, as decided, along with denim shorts and a white tank top. She didn't bother with shoes. When she was ready at last, she left the room, carrying a towel.

"I'll gut him if I have to!" Seth called when she walked outside. Leah just shook her head and closed the door behind her.

"You know you take forever?" Jacob informed her when she walked back into his house. He was seated on the couch in navy blue swim trunks with a white t shirt on, his feet propped on the coffee table. Leah merely shrugged in response. Jake smiled. "Let's head out." He got up, took her hand, and they walked outside. "What took you so long anyways?"

"I couldn't decide what to wear," she answered, swinging her hands between them.

"You know you'll look pretty no matter what. You shouldn't worry about how you look around me." Jacob told her, all joking gone. Leah, who was blushing more in the past two days then she had in her whole life combined, felt her cheeks redden.

"Thanks," They were both quiet for a moment before Leah broke the silence. "My brother said that if you hurt me, he'll gut you." She half expected him to say something along the lines of 'I would never hurt you', but he just joked right back at her.

"Oh, I bet I could kill him before I even got a scratch."

"I know. I told him that. He said it was 'his duty as my brother' or whatever."

By now they were at the beach and they both looked away from each other as they got ready to swim.

"Come on, Lee!" Jake called. He had already made his way to the edge of the water.

"It looks cold!" she cried back. Jacob rolled his eyes and walked back to where she was standing with her arms wrapped around herself. He pulled her hands away from her torso and kept one of them.

"I'll jump with you. Let's go." He took off, pulling Leah comically along with him. They fell into the ocean together, which really wasn't actually that cold. They spent the rest of the day splashing and playing until it was time for the movie. They dried off before pulling their clothes back on and going to Jacob's house to get the car. The ride to Port Angeles was fairly silent, but Jake held Leah's hand the whole way, rubbing circles with his thumb. While they rode, they each contemplated their relationship. It wasn't very romantic like some other couples were. They still acted like buddies, and the sarcasm-messing around thing was definitely still there. Yet, their relationship seemed to go deeper then most other ones. Like they would always be together no matter what. They reached this conclusion at almost the exact same time, as they were pulling into the movie theater parking lot. Boy, were they wrong.

Jacob hopped out of his Rabbit quickly so he could open Leah's door for her. She smiled and accepted when he offered his hand. They swung their hands again when they made their way up to the ticket booth. They decided to watch a chick flick, mainly to make fun of it (Leah wasn't _that _soft) and Jacob paid like the gentleman he was. However, he stopped short when they made it into the lobby.

"Bella?" he gasped. None other than Isabella Swan was there, on the arm of Edward Cullen. They seemed to be having an argument when Leah and Jacob arrived. Bella looked up at the sound of her name and plastered a smile on her face before meeting Jacob's eyes.

"Hi, Jake." She said. As if in slow motion, Jake felt all of his feelings for Leah slip away and focus instead on Bella. She was his sun, she was keeping him here. He would follow her wherever she went. Unconsciously, Bella and Jake both left the sides of their respective partners. "Jake?" Bella repeated. Edward cleared his throat and Leah took a shaky step backwards, wrapping her arms around herself.

"This isn't happening," she whispered. Oh, but it was. Jake had imprinted again. Edward moved towards Leah and put an arm on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Do I look okay, _leech?" _she countered. It's truly amazing how fast people change _back. _

**Hey guys! Again, I'm sorry it took so long! I really hope you enjoyed that chapter, I tried to make it extra long for you! I'll be updating as soon as possible! And also, this chapter is dedicated to my sister Bree for prodding me to update. I hope you liked it, kid. R & R! you guys are the best. **


	10. Ending This

**So, due to all the hardcore responses I got on my update yesterday, I'm updating again! Right now! Woohoo! Warning: this chapter is a tad bit depressing, but fear not, there will hopefully be at least a somewhat happy ending to this story, whenever I decide to end it. **

Chapter Ten

Leah began shaking wildly, practically convulsing in the middle of the movie theater.

"Leah, calm down. You don't want to phase here." Edward murmured. She took a deep breath and tried to relax, failing miserably. Her hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides and her eyes were squeezed shut. She had never wanted to transform into werewolf more than she did in that moment. "Get out of here!" Edward finally told her-not out of rudeness, but for hers and everyone else's protection. She nodded, wrenched herself away from Edward and barely made it to the cover of trees before exploding into her wolf form. And then she was running, faster and harder than she had in her life.

_Leah, is that you? What happened? _It was Sam. Leah felt a tear roll down her cheek.

_I was so stupid. I thought I actually deserved to be happy! _She replied sadly.

_Oh, Lee-Lee, you _do!

_Save it, Sam Uley! I'm ending this._

_Ending what_?

_Ending all of it. This eternal heartbreak and despair. I'm going to kill myself, Sam. _

Oh, the Committee. The poor, confused Committee. They were arguing, yet again.

"Oh, Aeri, how could you?" Rainy cried. "Look how unhappy Leah is _now!" _

The Forger merely shrugged nonchalantly while the Choosers fluttered about like livid hummingbirds on a caffeine high.

"You told me to choose someone else for Jacob, and I did." She reminded them.

"But you shouldn't have done it after Jacob and Leah realized they were in love!" Marlene told her.

"I wanted to keep them as imprints, in case you've forgotten. But no, they 'hated' each other. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourselves!" Aeri turned away from them, folding her arms across her chest in a pouty manner.

"Fine then!" Rainy threw her arms up in frustration. "It's all our fault! There, you have it. Now fix this before Leah does something truly stupid!" The Forger gasped.

"I had never used this bottle before Leah and Jake." She held up the small vile. "I hardly had any to start with. There is no way I am using more of this on the same people, let alone in the same week!" she dropped it carefully into her flowy, oversized robes. "I'm sorry, Choosers. But I will not do it." She left the room, closing the matter. Rainy sank into a plush chair and began to cry.

"I've never felt so dearly for two people in my life," she sobbed. Marlene patted her back gently.

"There, there. Hush now, Rainy. I have a plan."

Jacob looked at Bella with a funny smile on his face. It wasn't his usual smile. It looked as if he was a different person.

"I love you, Jake." Bella said out of nowhere. She then looked down at herself in confusion. She didn't understand why she had said that all of a sudden. She looked back up at Jacob. "I'm so confused."

"Well, I'm not. I love you, too. You wanna see a movie?"

"Sure!" Bella shouted, a little too eager. Jake handed her the ticket originally intended for Leah, and they walked hand in hand into an auditorium. Just as the previews started, Jacob felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

"I'm gonna get some popcorn, I'll be right back." He lied to Bella and then slipped out quickly before she could say anything.

"Hello?" he muttered into the phone, very clearly annoyed.

"Jacob? It's Sam."

"Well, hello Sam. Just why are you interrupting my date?"

This response threw Sam for a loop. "Date? With who?"

"Bella," Jake replied in a bored tone, as if it should have been obvious. Sam gasped.

"Jacob, you need to leave now. Leah is about to kill herself."

"What?" He was too caught up in his thoughts of Bella to pay attention.

"I _said _that your girlfriend is about to commit suicide!" Sam screamed. Jake held the phone away from his ear until he was done.

"My girlfriend is in the movie theater."

"Not Bella, you moron, Leah!"

"Oh. Well, just tell her not to do it in your alpha voice or whatever. This isn't my problem."

Sam sighed. "I tried that, but she's overriding it somehow. I think it's because her feelings are too powerful and my voice isn't strong enough, seeing as I'm not the rightful alpha…," he tipped the end of his sentence up, obviously suggesting something.

"What are you saying?" Jacob asked through clenched teeth.

"I'm _saying _that you have to do it, Jake. You're the true alpha. You're the only one capable of saving Leah." Jake hesitated and thought for a moment.

"Fine then. If I have to." He slammed his phone shut and stormed back into the theater. "Bells, I'm sorry but I have some…_business _that I have to take care of."He scanned her eyes in the darkness to see if she was angry. To his relief, she smiled.

"Okay. I'll see you later then. Love you!"

Jacob sighed. "Yeah, I love you too." And he tore out of the theater. He reached the trees and shifted immediately, picking up Leah's scent and following it. It was strangely silent in his head. He was used to there always being another werewolf around, but he guessed they were all out trying to coax Leah into giving up this desperate cry for attention. He pushed himself faster, knowing he would never hear the end of it if he let Leah kill herself. It was strange, though…as he was thinking these things, he felt something pushing forward in his memory. He remembered spending the day with Leah and how magical it was. He remembered years and years of being in love with her, and forcing himself to love Bella instead. But he laughed at himself, pinning it all to an over reactive imagination. He had never and would never be in love with Leah.

"Leah, please get down."

"No."

"Please?"

"No." Leah teetered on the rail of the La Push South bridge, a small bridge that covered a river coming off of the ocean. Sure, it wasn't a very creative way to die, but hey, Leah wasn't feeling very creative at the moment. Seth, Sam, and Embry were gathered a few feet away from where Leah was. They were all frightened to go to her, because whenever they took a step she would let herself lean forward a bit farther, making it seem as if she were about to fall. None of the boys wanted that. Seth was currently trying to urge her down, to no avail.

"Leah, what am I going to do without you?" Seth whimpered seriously. He was in no way acting-despite her flaws, he loved his sister.

"You'll live. You have mom and dad." She answered coldly. Sam put a hand on Seth's shoulder, signaling him to stop talking.

"Lee-Lee, you don't want to do this." he told her. Leah closed her eyes angrily.

"Don't tell me what I do or don't want to do…and stop calling me Lee-Lee. I'm not yours anymore." She replied.

"But Lee-Lee, I love you!" Sam protested.

"No, you love Emily!" she spat the name out like it was venom on her tongue. Sam sighed and looked at the ground.

"I do." He agreed. "But I never stopped loving you, Leah."

"Well, _what _do you expect me to do with that?" she hissed. Sam looked back up and shrugged.

"I don't know. Keep living." He said honestly.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Sam, but I stopped relying on your love to live a long time ago. It's going to take more than that."

"What about me then?" Everyone looked around for the owner of the voice and saw Jacob walking toward s them. Jake, who still couldn't figure out why he had this weird urge to hug Leah, had decided to put his whole heart into helping her survive.

"What_ about_ you?" Leah felt herself begin to cry again. She couldn't handle this. It would kill her more painfully than she could kill herself.

"_I_ love you, Leah." Jake told her. He shrugged with his hands in his pockets and looked out at the water. "I don't know how or why. But I do."

"Oh? And what about your oh so precious imprint _Isabella?_" It was clear to everyone that Leah held no feeling aside from pure hatred towards Bella.

"Well, I'm going to date her. You and me can be friends, though." Whoa. Way wrong thing to say.

"Friends?! Friends, Jacob Black?" She shook her head furiously. "No way. I could never be friends with you. I can hardly stand to see your face!" she shrieked. She was now sobbing relentlessly. Her life was too messed up to continue. She had to finish this and finish it quickly.

"Guys," she sniffled, addressing Seth, Sam, and Embry. "I love you all and I'm sorry for the burden my life has caused you." She hurried on before they could attempt to contradict her. She turned to Jacob. "And Jake, I think I've always been in love with you, I just hid it from myself too well. But it's too late for that now. You destroyed me."

It was around this moment of staring into Leah's eyes that Jacob realized why he had been in love with stubborn, bitter, hard-headed Leah Clearwater. He knew that Bella was still his imprint, he could feel that, but he no longer felt an undying urge to go back to her. He knew that Leah was right for him. Sure, he wasn't exactly following the rules of imprinting…but when did werewolves, namely Jacob, follow the rules?

He lurched forward to tell Leah that he had remembered everything, that he had finally come to his senses. She noticed the movement and shook her head with a sad smile. They weren't supposed to come near her. Just as Sam shouted,

"Jake, don't!", Leah released her grip on the rail and let herself fall backwards, to her certain death. Jake sprinted the rest of the way to the ledge and gripped it tightly, crying,

"No!" with all his might.

_You never know what you've got until it's gone. _

**Yes, I know I've used that ending for a chapter twice. I just liked it and thought it was a tad bit ironic. They both realize their feelings for each other at the worst possible time, huh? R&R and I'll update faster (: **


	11. Saving You

Chapter Eleven:

Leah's terrified last scream cut through the air like a knife and Jake felt as if he were about to die. He was overwhelmed with emotion. Mainly love for Leah, and a hurt deeper than imagination could hold. She couldn't be gone. It was impossible. Without thinking about it, Jake phased and dove off the bridge after her.

"Jacob, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill yourself, too?" Embry called to him. Jake didn't care if he died. If Leah was dead, then he was, too. He fell swiftly, but he wasn't afraid. This was just like cliff diving. His eyes continuously moved back and forth, looking for Leah's small form. He couldn't see her anywhere. He hit the dark water with a massive _splash _and he propelled himself around underwater, looking for her. It was hard to see, but he kept looking. He wasn't going to give up. However, he still needed oxygen, and his breath was giving out.

_No,_ he thought, _I have to find her…I have to save her. _He held in sobs- he didn't have time for that now. He needed to bring Leah out, alive.

"Jacob!" a sickly melodic voice sliced through the water to reach the werewolf's ears. He perked up. "I have her!" Jake nearly laughed with relief. He kicked his way to the surface and saw none other than Edward Cullen, standing on the shore with an unconscious Leah in his arms, holding out a pair of sweat pants. Jacob phased and took them gratefully, despite the metallic stink. Edward gently set Leah on the ground and shook out his wet hair. "I assume you can take it from here," he said with a slight smile. Jacob nodded, but didn't look up at him as he kneeled next to Leah.

"Thank you," he responded fervently-he truly meant it. Before he had time to say more, Edward had vanished. Out of nowhere, Sam appeared behind Jacob.

"We could start a war, you know. He was on our land." He said. Jake growled.

"He saved her."

"I know. I didn't say we were going to do it." He sighed and squatted next to Jacob. "Do you really love her?" he asked.

Jacob looked up and smiled. "I really do."

"But what about Bella? Didn't you imprint on her?"

"Yeah, I did. And for a second, she was all I could think about. But then, after I saw Leah…I don't know. It's like my love for her is stronger than all of that. It's stronger than imprinting's trap."

"That makes me wonder, Jake." Sam looked away thoughtfully. "It makes me wonder if maybe, my love for Leah was stronger than _my _imprint. I hate myself for breaking her heart like that."

"No, Sam. I think you were meant to be with Emily. Leah was meant to be with me." He chuckled and Sam joined in.

"Well, I guess now that I know she's taken care of, I can finally let her go. I _do _still love her. More than anyone knows." Sam sounded so sad, it was impossible for Jacob _not _to believe him. He nodded and Sam stood. "I'll be jealous of you, by the way. For the rest of my life, I'll be jealous." And he left. Jacob stared at Leah's face. She was still unconscious, but she had a steady heartbeat and there didn't appear to be any broken bones. She had a small cut on her forehead, but that would heal. The worst thing was probably that she smelled like a leech. But Jacob was past caring at this point. He scooped her up easily into his arms and began making his way to her house. When he made it to the main street, Seth met up with him.

"Let me do the talking." Jake said, and Seth agreed. He opened the door for Jacob when they reached the Clearwater house, and they walked inside together. Sue was at the table, but she hopped up in alarm when she saw her daughter.

"Oh, my word, what happened?" she cried. Seth kept to the agreement that Jake would speak and kept his mouth shut. Surprisingly, Jacob laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you know Leah. Trying to show off by cliff diving off the high jump. She's fine, she just needs rest. Tell her when she wakes up…that I'm waiting for her." He walked to her room and set her down on the bed, covering her with her comforter. Then he left her to go for a walk.

He strolled down the long dirt road leading to the beach. He didn't feel like going home, not now. There was so much for him to think about. How come he didn't feel anything for Bella, his imprint? How was it possible? But really, the reasons didn't matter to him. He had Leah, if she would take him. He prayed she would. At that moment, he heard pounding footsteps coming after him. He turned and saw Leah running, panting and out of breath, at full tilt after him.

"Jake!" she cried. "Jake, wait!" He did so, with a huge grin in her face. He caught her in his arms when she reached him, and kissed her, laughing when they pulled away. He set her back on her feet. "You saved me." She whispered. Jake shook his head.

"I wish I could take credit. I was looking and looking for you, but I didn't see you anywhere. I wasn't about to give up though. I was going to keep looking until I died down there." Leah slapped his arm.

"Don't be an idiot." She laughed.

"Hey, I'm serious." He replied. "Edward saved you, and I took you home. I never thought I would actually _owe _a parasite."

"Why do you owe him?"

"Because he brought you back to me." He nudged her playfully, but that reminded her…she frowned.

"Yeah, he brought me back so we can be _friends._" The disgust in her voice was unmistakable. Jake shook his head.

"No, not just friends." He corrected her. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. This couldn't be happening.

"What about Bella?" she asked him incredulously. Jacob shrugged.

"I don't know. I know she's my imprint, but…I'm in love with you. Not her." Leah laughed.

"Is that even possible? To over power the imprinting force or whatever?"

"Apparently." He took her hand and they started walking aimlessly down the road.

"Do you still want to go back to her?" Leah whispered after a moment. Jacob sighed in response.

"Honestly? Yeah. Deep, deep down I have this urge to go back. But it's not so bad anymore. I can resist it."

"Jake, you don't have to try and fight this for the rest of your life-," Leah began to protest, but Jacob stopped her.

"I don't mind. It's worth it."

Aeri was sleeping. Marlene and Rainy crept carefully and silently into her small bedroom, hardly daring to breathe. They couldn't wake her now- it would spoil everything. They knew there would be a heavy price to pay whenever the Forger _did _awaken, but for the two Choosers, they were willing to pay it. All of it came down to the power of love. Cheesy, but true. Marlene put a finger to her lips, as if Rainy needed a reminder, and signaled for her fellow Chooser to freeze. When she did, Marlene tiptoed forward and reached two long, bony fingers into the sleeve of Aeri's robe. She felt the small glass and she gently tugged it out, being cautious to avoid touching Aeri's skin. When she held the vile in her grasp, they turned and quickly made their way out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Meanwhile, Aeri sat up in bed, smiling.

"I knew they were worth it." She whispered to herself, then went back to sleep.

The Choosers hurried to Jacob's life strand, where it was barely clinging to Bella's. Marlene cocked her head. It didn't even seem as if they would need the mystery liquid. She slowly reached forward and peeled the two strings apart. They shimmered for a moment on their own, but then they were still and perfect.

"I've never Forged before," Marlene muttered, looking around for Leah's strand. She finally found it and pulled it close to Jake's. "I think this is how it's done." She whispered, then held the strings very tightly together. After a moment, they shimmered again, and they were bound, forever.

"Leah, the strangest thing just happened."

"What?"

"I don't think I'm bound to Bella anymore." They both looked up at the same time, into each other's eyes, and they each felt their worlds shift to revolve around the other.

"It's impossible." Leah breathed, then giggled. "I think the imprinting force is bipolar or something."

"I really don't care anymore." Jake replied. He had imprinted on Leah, _again, _and he was actually happy. The imprinting force-whatever that was-couldn't have mattered less. Finally, he had all he ever wanted. But, he needed to be sure of one thing first. "Leah, are you happy now?"

She hesitated, before smiling as wide as humanly possible. "Yes." And strangely, she meant it.


End file.
